Drapery connector assembly

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a connector assembly for attaching drapery to a table, elevated platform, or the like. The assembly includes a plurality of resilient clips having generally parallel leg portions adapted to grip the edge of the item being draped, a male fastener being disposed at a face of the clip for detachable coupling with a plurality of female fasteners secured along the top edge of the drapery. In one embodiment, means are provided to temporarily lock the fasteners together.

United States Patent Guebert et a1.

Filed: Sept. 10, 1973 Appl. No.: 395,618

US. Cl. 160/330; 24/73 MS Int. Cl. A47H l/00 Field of Search 160/330,348, 383, 402, 160/368 R; 24/83, 73 MS, 73 GS, 73 MC, 73 KM:221, 255 D;248/214 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1925 Shee 248/21412/1949 Muench... 160/330 1/1950 Hess 160/330 [451 Sept. 16, 1975Johnson... 248/214 X Primary Examiner-Philip C. Kannan Attorney, Agent,or Firm-Kenneth R. Glaser [57] ABSTRACT Disclosed is a connectorassembly for attaching drapery to a table, elevated platform, or thelike. The assembly includes a plurality of resilient clips havinggenerally parallel leg portions adapted to grip the edge of the itembeing draped, a male fastener being disposed at a face of the clip fordetachable coupling with a plurality of female fasteners secured alongthe top edge of the drapery. In one embodiment, means are provided totemporarily lock the fasteners together.

4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures DRAPERY CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY The presentinvention relates generally to decorative drapery systems, moreparticularly to drapery connector assemblies, and even more particularlyto means for removably attaching drapes and trimming to tables, elevatedplatforms or the like.

Hotels, restaurants, and other institutions often re quire that itsbanquet tables, temporary stages, or elevated platforms or the like havesome type of drapery or skirting. This skirting is normally secured orcoupled in some manner to the top of the table or platform and hangstherefrom, ordinarily to a location adjacent the floor. Thus, the sodraped table, for example, presents a pleasing decorative effect.

Various types of apparatus and techniques have been previously employedto secure or attach this drapery, all suffering from variousdisadvantages. Specifically, one commonly employed approach is todirectly tack or staple the skirting to the table or platform. This notonly results in damage to the drapery and/or to the surface to whichthey are stapled, but also provides an inconvenient, time consuming,means for applying, removing and interchanging the drapery. Furthermore,many platform stages or tables commonly employ metallic surfaces towhich the drapery cannot be stapled. Alternatively, hangers or elongatedholders to which the drapery is attached have been employed to removablyengage the edge of the table or platform, but these have generally beenof such a construction which have proven to be inconvenient andcumbersome to use.

It is a primary object of the invention to provide a new and improveddrapery connector assembly.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a new and improvedconnector assembly for removably securing or attaching drapery tobanquet tables, elevated platforms, or the like.

It is an even still further object of the invention to provide aconnector assembly which is simple and inexpensive to fabricate, andallows for convenient, quick application, removal, andinterchangeability of drapery or other trimming with the item to bedecoratively adorned.

In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention isdirected to a drapery connector assem' bly comprising a plurality ofholders or clips spaced along, and adapted for removable coupling to,the pe ripheral edge of the item being draped, each of the holdershaving fastening means adapted to mateably and detachably couple withrespective fastening means secured along the top edge of the drapery. Inaccordance with preferred embodiments of the assembly, each of theholders has leg portions adapted to resiliently grip the peripheral edgeof a table top, for exam ple, the leg portions uniquely transverselyintersecting an outwardly directed surface portion to which one of thefasteners is joined. The mating fasteners are disposed along anelongated tape secured to the top edge of the drape. An alternatepreferred embodiment temporarily locks the holders to the drapery.

These and other features, objects, and advantages of the invention willbe more readily understood from the following detailed description takenin conjunction with the drawings wherein like numerals refer tocorresponding parts and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates the use of the drapery connector assembly of thepresent invention in attaching drapery to a table.

FIG. 2 depicts, in detail, a first preferred embodiment of the componentparts of the connector assembly and their interrelationship with oneanother and to the surface to which the assembly is removably coupled;

FIG. 3 illustrates the resilient clip or holder shown in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 illustrates an alternate preferred embodiment of the componentparts of the drape connector assembly in accordance with the invention.

The use of the term drape or drapery through out this descriptiongenerally means, and is intended to include, any type of skirting,curtains, trimming or the like formed of any type of material or fabricused for decorating or enhancing the appearance of the item to which itis coupled. Generally, the material is arranged in loose folds orpleats.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, the connector assembly of the presentinvention is illustrated for hanging drapery 10 from a banquet table 11having a table top 12. While the table top has been illustrated as beingof a rectangular configuration, it is understood that it can be of anydesired configuration, i.e., circular, semicircular, etc. Furthermore,while the use of the connector assembly of the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 1 for draping a banquet table, this is justrepresentative of one of the many uses of the assembly, othersincluding, for example, the draping of permanent and temporary raisedplatforms or stages as well as other clips 14, of any desired number orspacing, are firmly,

but removably, coupled to the edge 13, and if desired, can be slidablytranslated therealong.

Disposed along and adjacent the top edge 10a of the drapery 10 arefastening members 15 adapted to mateably engage and detachably couplewith the clips 14, thereby to enable the securing of the drape to thetable edge. While these fastening members 15 may be attached or securedto the drapery 10 in any manner, in accordance with a feature of thepresent invention, they are permanently attached thereto by being joinedto an elongated strip of tape 16 secured in any suitable or appropriatemanner, as by sewing for example, at the top edge of the drapery 10. Inaccordance with a preferred form of construction, the strip 16 isfabricated as a woven nylon tape approximately 1 to 2 inches in width,the fasteners 15 being disposed approximately 8 inches apart.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 and 3, each of the connector clips 14 includesa face portion 20 and a pair of transversly extending legs 21 and 22extending therefrom for resiliently engaging the table edge 13, in themanner illustrated in FIG. 2. The leg 22 includes a curved end portion22a adapted to abut against the face of the recessed apron 18 of thetable top. The connector clip 14, and particularly the transverselyextending legs 21 and 22, are preferably formed of a resilient plasticmaterial, for example polycarbonate, and can be fabricated, for example,by injection molding.

While the holder or clip 14 may be formed of any shape or sizeconsistent with the broad teachings of the present invention, inaccordance with a feature thereof, it is preferably formed in the shapeillustrated in FIG. 3. Specifically. the leg 22 is angularly disposed(preferably at a 45 angle) with the face 20 not only to assist theresilient clamping action against the table edge 13, but also to enablethe clip 14 to fit over the drop molding 19, and then clamped onto thetable edge 13 in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. Furthermore, thedistance between the front face 20 and the curved portion 22:: is suchas to allow the curved portion 22a to abut the apron 18 while the innersurface 200 of the face portion 20 is flush against the surface of theedge 13 (or drop molding 19). Additionally, each clip 14 is fabricatedso that the length of the face 20 (and therefore the vertical distancebetween the leg 21 and the curved portion 22a) is, in each instance,such as to allow the clip 14 to clamp on edges 13 of varying widths.Alternatively, the angle of intersection of the leg 22 with face 20 canbe varied to allow for such variations in edge widths.

Disposed at each face 20, and extending outwardly therefrom, is a maleconnector extension 25 adapted to be received within, and be detachablycoupled with, one of the female fasteners 15 secured to the tape 16.Each of the clips 14 are spaced from one another along the table edge 13corresponding to the distance between the female fasteners 15 so thatthe drape may be quickly and conveniently attached to the table top bymerely pressing the fasteners 25 and together. it is to be understoodthat the specific construction of the maleand female fasteners and 15 isnot critical to the invention, it only being necessary that they be of aconstruction to enable detachable coupling. Additionally, it is apparentthat, if desired, the female fastener 15 may be part of the clip 14, andthe male fastener 25 may be secured to the tape 16.

' The drape connector assembly, as thus described, of-' fers manyadvantages. First, since the clip 14 removably clamps to the table edge13, there is no need to tack or staple the drape to the table, thuspreventing damage thereto. Secondly, the d rapery may be convenientlyapplied, removed, and interchanged with a minimum of effort and time.Additionally, there is no necessity for altering or modifying the tabletop to provide a means for securing the drapery thereto. Furthermore, bymarketing a drape connector assembly including the clip 14 and a tape 16to which the fasteners 15 are secured, the purchaser or user of theassembly may then merely apply the tape to drapery 0r curtains of itsown choice and design, thereby providing custom draping for its table,stage, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is depicted an alternate preferredembodiment of the connector assembly of the present invention.Accordingly, the clip 14 includes a modified version 25a of the maleconnector extension as well as a modification 15a of the female matingfastener. Specifically, the fastener 25a includes a pair of end portionsand 31 adapted to be disposed behind corresponding lips 32 and 33 of thefastener 15a. Thus, by inserting the fastener 250 into the spacedportion 34 of the fastener 15a and then rotating the former in thedirection of the arrows 35, the corresponding connectors may be lockedor secured together. The drapery is then applied to the edge of thetable or platform by pressing the clips 14 on the edge thereof, aspreviously described. Then, when the drape 10 is to be removed from thetable, it is merely pulled away from the edge 13, the clips 14disengaging from this edge and remaining attached to the drapery itself.Later, if desired, the clips 14 may be removed from the drape merely byrotating the clips out of locking engagement with the fastener 15a.

While the connector assembly has been specifically described withreference to decorating a table, it is equally applicable to decoratingor hanging a drape from a raised platform used as a stage. In thisinstance, the resilient clips can be applied directly to the edge of theplatform or, alternatively. may be applied to elongated bars (oftenreferred to as drapery hanger bars") which are secured along theperiphery of the raised platforms or stages.

Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments as well as additionalembodiments may become apparent to those skilled in the art afterreviewing the foregoing description without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An assembly for draping a table, stage, or the like of the typehaving a peripheral edge and a recessed apron, said assembly comprising:

a. a plurality of clips resiliently and slidably clamped onto and alongsaid peripheral edge, each of said clips comprising a face portion witha first fastener means disposed at the outer surface of said faceportion, and upper and lower leg portions transversely intersecting saidface portion, said lower leg portion having its end terminating in acurvilinear portion;

b. each of the said clips clamping said peripheral edge in a mannerwhereby the inner surface of the upper leg portion and the inner surfaceof the face portion is against the top and front surfaces, respectively,of the peripheral edge and the said curvilinear portion simultaneouslyabuts against the recessed apron and the underside surface of theperipheral edge; and

c. drapery means having a plurality of second fastener means fordetachable coupling with respective ones of said first fastener means ofsaid clips.

2. The assembly as defined by claim 1 wherein the lower leg portion isdisposed at an approximately 45 angle to said face portion.

3. The assembly as defined by claim 2 wherein said second fastener meansare disposed along an elongated strip secured to said drape, said firstfastener means comprises a male fastener and said second fastener meanscomprise female fasteners.

4. The connector means as defined by claim 2 wherein means are providedfor temporarily locking said first and second fastener means together.

1. An assembly for draping a table, stage, or the like of the typehaving a peripheral edge and a recessed apron, said assembly comprising:a. a plurality of clips resiliently and slidably clamped onto and alongsaid peripheral edge, each of said clips comprising a face portion witha first fastener means disposed at the outer surface of said faceportion, and upper and lower leg portions transversely intersecting saidface portion, said lower leg portion having its end terminating in acurvilinear portion; b. each of the said clips clamping said peripheraledge in a manner whereby the inner surface of the upper leg portion andthe inner surface of the face portion is against the top and frontsurfaces, respectively, of the peripheral edge and the said curvilinearportion simultaneously abuts against the recessed apron and theunderside surface of the peripheral edge; and c. drapery means having aplurality of second fastener means for detachable coupling withrespective ones of said first fastener means of said clips.
 2. Theassembly as defined by claim 1 wherein the lower leg portion is disposedat an approximately 45* angle to said face portion.
 3. The assembly asdefined by claim 2 wherein said second fastener means are disposed alongan elongated strip secured to said drape, said first fastener meanscomprises a male fastener and said second fastener means comprise femalefasteners.
 4. The connector means as defined by claim 2 wherein meansare provided for temporarily locking said first and second fastenermeans together.